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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · land · tear · net · chest · staff · tube · fan

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — for catching
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a word
  6. land — a country
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — after costs
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tube — a container
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — ground
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — in sport
  20. land — to come down
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. tube — the underground
  23. root — the cause
  24. staff — employees

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