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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: root · chest · mark · coach · wind · toast · bay · present

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. mark — a grade
  4. root — the cause
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — a gift
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chest — a box
  12. root — of a word
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — there
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. toast — bread
  20. present — the time now
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mark — a trace
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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