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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 116 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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. saw — the tool
  3. root — of a word
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. land — to come down
  6. root — the cause
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rule — government
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rule — a law
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. land — a country

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