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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rock — a stone
  6. root — the cause
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. net — after costs
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. hand — in cards
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hand — help
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rock — music
  21. root — of a plant
  22. net — for catching
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. root — of a word

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