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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. land — ground
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. root — of a word
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — crushed
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rest — a break
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stock — shares
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. rest — what's left
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. land — a country
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. root — of a plant

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