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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. court — for sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. last — final
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. court — of law
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. root — of a plant
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. lean — thin
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. last — finally
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — music
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. march — the month

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