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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. firm — a company
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. land — a country
  13. chair — a leader
  14. root — of a plant
  15. land — to come down
  16. root — the cause
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. land — ground
  21. root — of a word
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chest — a box
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com