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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fall — to drop
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fall — the season
  10. stock — shares
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. root — the cause
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. squash — the vegetable

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