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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 120 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: chair · racket · land · bear · cold · deal · arm · root

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — ground
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. root — of a word
  7. bear — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. chair — a leader
  12. deal — to handle
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. root — the cause
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — a big deal

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