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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. root — of a word
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. club — a group
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. club — for golf
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hand — help
  14. root — the cause
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. dip — to sink
  17. hand — in cards
  18. squash — the sport
  19. root — of a plant
  20. club — for dancing
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. straw — dry grass

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