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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 · ground · pitcher · swing · chair · race · land · club

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. land — to come down
  5. root — the cause
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. land — a country
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. race — the arms race
  15. club — for dancing
  16. race — a contest
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. land — ground
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. club — a group
  24. root — of a plant

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