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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. root — of a word
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rash — a series
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ball — a great time
  22. row — a line
  23. plane — a tool
  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