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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. land — to come down
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chip — for betting
  6. land — a country
  7. bulb — for light
  8. game — wild animals
  9. root — of a word
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a match
  13. root — of a plant
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. root — the cause
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. land — ground
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chip — to eat

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