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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — the underground
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. root — of a plant
  6. land — ground
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rest — a break
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — what's left
  11. deal — to handle
  12. charge — a price
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tube — a container
  17. land — a country
  18. charge — in control
  19. land — to come down
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. charge — electricity
  24. straw — dry grass

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