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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. content — happy
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chest — a box
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. vault — a safe
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. root — the cause
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bass — low music
  14. net — in sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cap — a hat
  17. root — of a word
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — the amount
  24. chest — of your body

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