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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. court — of a king
  6. root — of a word
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. court — for sport
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. court — of law
  17. bear — the animal
  18. root — the cause
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. root — of a plant

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