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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chip — to eat
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. root — of a word
  10. foot — a measure
  11. court — of law
  12. chip — for betting
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chair — a leader
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. court — for sport
  22. root — of a plant
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. chair — a professorship

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