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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: kick · root · fan · land · chest · bay · can · chair

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — ground
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — of a word
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — to come down
  13. root — the cause
  14. can — a tin
  15. root — of a plant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. can — a tin
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. chest — a box
  21. kick — in football
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — a country

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