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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rock — music
  3. root — the cause
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — for dancing
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mug — a cup
  10. root — of a word
  11. hand — help
  12. rock — a stone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for golf
  16. mug — to rob
  17. root — of a plant
  18. club — a group
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mug — a face

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