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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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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 · spring · lie · wind · trunk · root · wound · cap

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. root — of a word
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. root — the cause
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — of ice
  12. root — of a plant
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spring — of water
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. trunk — of a car

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