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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: root · swing · chest · roll · jam · lean · sharp · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. root — of a word
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — thin
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. swing — to play on
  8. lean — to bend
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. chest — a box
  20. sharp — clever
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. jam — in traffic

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