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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. root — the cause
  4. foot — a measure
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. root — of a plant
  17. game — a match
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — help
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. foot — the bottom

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