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

Word bank: root · land · cue · staff · wound · pound · row · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. root — of a word
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cue — a hint
  16. land — to come down
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — a line
  19. cue — for pool
  20. root — the cause
  21. land — a country
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chair — a professorship

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