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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mug — to rob
  8. chest — of your body
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chest — a box
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chair — a leader
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. dip — to dunk

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