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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · club · chair · bear · root · face · mine · ground

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. club — for golf
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. root — of a word
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — the cause
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. file — a document
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chair — a leader
  22. ground — a position
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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