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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bore — to drill
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. root — of a word
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — to tire
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. dip — to sink
  18. root — the cause
  19. bat — the animal
  20. band — a music group
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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