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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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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: spell · rest · cold · chair · root · tube · present · fan

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. present — a gift
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. present — the time now
  9. tube — the underground
  10. root — of a plant
  11. spell — letters
  12. rest — a break
  13. present — there
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. root — of a word
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tube — a container
  23. root — the cause
  24. chair — a leader

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