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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. scale — in music
  7. root — the cause
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. net — for catching
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. press — to push
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. press — a publisher
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. net — after costs
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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