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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. fall — to drop
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. root — of a word
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fall — to drop
  9. press — to push
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. toast — bread
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. root — the cause
  19. game — wild animals
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fall — the season
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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