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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kid — child
  3. tube — a container
  4. court — for sport
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. root — of a word
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chest — a box
  18. tube — the underground
  19. court — of law
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chest — of your body
  22. branch — a division
  23. court — of a king
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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