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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spring — of water
  4. root — of a plant
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. root — the cause
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — the season
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — a leader
  16. root — of a word
  17. chip — for betting
  18. capital — money
  19. dip — to sink
  20. capital — a city
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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