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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. staff — a stick
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. staff — employees
  9. root — of a plant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. staff — employees
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. saw — the tool
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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