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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chip — for betting
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of a king
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. root — of a word
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. hand — in cards
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. chip — to eat
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. court — for sport
  20. root — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — of law
  24. root — the cause

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