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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: stick · chest · swing · kid · land · root · roll · rest

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. swing — to play on
  4. land — to come down
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. root — of a word
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — of your body
  12. roll — a cake
  13. land — a country
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — a box
  19. kid — child
  20. roll — a list
  21. rest — a break
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — ground

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