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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 120 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: field · wave · chest · present · scale · staff · root · bat

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. root — of a word
  4. scale — in music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. scale — size or range
  7. present — there
  8. root — the cause
  9. staff — employees
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. field — farmland
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — for sport
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. chest — a box
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. scale — for weighing

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