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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. root — of a word
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. drill — army training
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hand — help
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. drill — a practice
  22. root — the cause
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. straw — a straw man

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