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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. root — of a plant
  3. board — to get on
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. swing — music
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. root — of a word
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pit — a hole
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — a committee
  23. straw — a straw man
  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