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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: trunk · mate · season · root · chair · temple · spell · drill

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mate — to breed
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — letters
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mate — a partner
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. root — of a word
  12. mate — a friend
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spell — magic
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. spell — a short time
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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