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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: face · chair · nail · race · root · trunk · ground · mine

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — a position
  4. root — the cause
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. face — to confront
  8. race — a contest
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to point toward
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. root — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ground — the earth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. race — the arms race

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