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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. foot — a measure
  3. snap — to click
  4. vault — a safe
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. root — of a word
  10. ground — the earth
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. ground — crushed
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rash — hasty
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — to tease
  23. root — the cause
  24. kid — child

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