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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. race — a contest
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. content — happy
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — in cards
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. root — of a word
  13. hand — help
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. scale — in music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a plant
  18. scale — size or range
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. race — humankind
  23. root — the cause
  24. race — the arms race

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