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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: band · deal · lie · cold · chair · can · root · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. deal — to handle
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. can — a tin
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. root — the cause
  8. can — a tin
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. root — of a plant
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. can — to be able to
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — the earth

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