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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: firm · root · last · chest · land · mug · scale · game

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — a country
  5. last — to go on
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. chest — a box
  9. last — final
  10. firm — a company
  11. root — of a word
  12. firm — decided
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. firm — steady
  16. game — a match
  17. scale — size or range
  18. root — the cause
  19. game — wild animals
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. root — of a plant
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — of your body

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