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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 116 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. root — of a word
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bark — to shout
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. field — a subject
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. root — the cause
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. field — farmland

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