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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.

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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: foot · arm · chair · cap · root · wake · fall · cold

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — a trail
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — a hat
  7. root — the cause
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — of ice
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. fall — the season
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — a measure

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