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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 116 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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. suit — in cards
  3. file — a tool
  4. suit — clothes
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. swing — music
  12. suit — to fit
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. root — the cause
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wax — to grow
  22. root — of a plant
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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