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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: coach · lash · ground · pound · chair · root · foot · roll

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. roll — a cake
  5. root — of a word
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chair — a leader
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. foot — a measure
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. roll — a list
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. ground — the earth
  18. root — the cause
  19. ground — a position
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pound — a weight
  22. root — of a plant
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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