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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. root — of a word
  5. spring — a coil
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. root — the cause
  8. spring — the season
  9. root — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rush — hurry
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spring — of water
  19. squash — the sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — child
  24. straw — a straw man

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