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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: root · leaves · game · mouse · chip · chest · spell · sharp

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spell — letters
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chip — to eat
  11. root — of a word
  12. game — a match
  13. root — of a plant
  14. spell — magic
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — the cause
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spell — a short time
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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