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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. root — of a plant
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bat — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mate — to breed
  13. root — of a word
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — not warm
  21. perch — the fish
  22. root — the cause
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — dry grass

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