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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: wake · snap · last · root · lean · pitcher · chair · chest

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — of your body
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — a box
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to bend
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. last — final
  11. snap — to click
  12. root — of a plant
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. last — to go on
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lean — thin
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. root — of a word
  24. last — finally

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