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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. field — farmland
  4. dip — to sink
  5. field — a subject
  6. root — the cause
  7. bass — the fish
  8. deal — to handle
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. root — of a word
  19. field — for sport
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bass — low music
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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