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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ball — a dance
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. file — a tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. file — a document
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pound — a weight
  20. root — of a word
  21. dip — to sink
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. root — the cause

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