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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — a committee
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — help
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. board — to get on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. net — for catching
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. root — of a plant
  24. mine — for digging

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