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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mug — to rob
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — for golf
  13. pound — a weight
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. root — of a word
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mug — a cup
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fork — in a road
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  24. cold — not warm

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