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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — in biology
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. branch — a division
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. capital — a city
  19. root — of a plant
  20. kid — child
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — a phone
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mouse — for a computer

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