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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lie — to recline
  4. root — of a plant
  5. cell — a phone
  6. squash — to crush
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. root — the cause
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cell — in biology
  14. scale — in music
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. root — of a word
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. squash — the sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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