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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. file — a document
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a ring
  7. root — of a plant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. ground — the earth
  10. root — of a word
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — in control
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. root — the cause
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of a king
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — for sport
  22. charge — electricity
  23. band — a music group
  24. court — of law

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