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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. root — the cause
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — the season
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. spring — of water
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fork — to eat with

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