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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. object — to protest
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — to wash
  13. object — an aim
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. club — for golf
  16. object — a thing
  17. degree — an amount
  18. club — for dancing
  19. degree — from a university
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rush — hurry
  22. shower — rain
  23. root — the cause
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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