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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. staff — employees
  5. root — of a word
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pop — music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stem — to come from
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. root — of a plant
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. squash — to crush
  21. staff — employees
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. root — the cause

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