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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. root — the cause
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. current — happening now
  6. file — a line of people
  7. root — of a word
  8. kid — child
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. file — a tool
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. file — a document
  17. current — electric
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fine — all right
  24. current — of water

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