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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a music group
  6. root — of a plant
  7. band — a ring
  8. scale — in music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fall — the season
  15. root — of a word
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. snap — to click
  19. root — the cause
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. scale — size or range

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