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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: chair · lie · content · object · root · field · cap · rest

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. root — of a word
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rest — a break
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chair — a leader
  14. object — a thing
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. content — the amount
  20. object — to protest
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. object — an aim
  23. lie — to recline
  24. field — farmland

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