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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bank — for money
  11. root — of a word
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bank — of a river
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. root — the cause
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. spring — of water
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bank — for money
  22. cell — a phone
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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