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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — letters
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. club — for dancing
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. dip — to sink
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spell — a short time
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. root — of a word
  19. hand — help
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. root — the cause
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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