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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chest — a box
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. root — the cause
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — music
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pop — soda
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. plane — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bat — the animal
  17. root — of a word
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chest — of your body
  20. root — of a plant
  21. snap — to click
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pop — to visit
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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