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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · root · squash · cell · kick · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — the animal
  7. root — the cause
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kick — in football
  16. root — of a word
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. squash — to crush

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