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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. shower — to wash
  10. root — of a word
  11. band — a ring
  12. swing — music
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. band — a music group
  16. root — of a plant
  17. squash — the sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. squash — to crush
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. foot — a measure

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