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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cap — a hat
  5. firm — a company
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. firm — steady
  8. root — of a word
  9. firm — decided
  10. root — of a plant
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. root — the cause
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. shower — rain

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