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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — magic
  3. fall — the season
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. land — a country
  9. root — the cause
  10. rush — hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. land — ground
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spell — letters
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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