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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. present — a gift
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. present — there
  5. root — of a word
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. root — the cause
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — of a plant
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cue — for pool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ball — a dance
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. ball — a great time
  23. present — the time now
  24. cue — a hint

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