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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. root — of a word
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rest — what's left
  8. roll — a cake
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. root — the cause
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rest — a break
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. shower — rain
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — for digging
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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