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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a word
  5. spring — a coil
  6. root — the cause
  7. spring — the season
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. saw — the tool
  18. perch — the fish
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spring — of water
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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