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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. root — the cause
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chest — a box
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. root — of a word
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. root — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — in a road
  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