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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. drill — a practice
  4. root — the cause
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a tool
  10. root — of a word
  11. file — a line of people
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. drill — the tool
  17. firm — decided
  18. court — of law
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — of a king
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. drill — army training

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