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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: nail · bat · chair · rest · pitcher · root · spring · fall

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rest — a break
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — the animal
  12. root — of a word
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. root — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. root — the cause
  19. fall — the season
  20. spring — the season
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spring — of water
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fall — to drop

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