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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: pound · last · root · cell · mine · can · fork · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. root — of a word
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. root — the cause
  5. last — final
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — finally
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — to go on
  13. can — a tin
  14. mine — for digging
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pound — a weight
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. pound — for dogs

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