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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. sharp — clever
  3. band — a ring
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. hand — help
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. band — a music group
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. root — the cause
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — of a word
  24. band — a rubber band

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