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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. club — for dancing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cold — an illness
  5. file — a tool
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. scale — in music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a document
  21. field — farmland
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. root — of a word

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