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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. staff — employees
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. staff — employees
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. root — of a word
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. root — the cause
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. row — a line
  21. staff — a stick
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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