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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. root — the cause
  3. charge — a price
  4. field — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bass — low music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chest — a box
  13. field — farmland
  14. chair — a leader
  15. field — a subject
  16. bass — the fish
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. charge — in control
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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