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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — of ice
  7. march — the month
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cap — a lid
  10. march — music
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a hat
  13. root — the cause
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — wild animals
  17. court — of law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. game — a match
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. face — to confront
  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