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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — the cause
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. root — of a word
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. roll — a list
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — a professorship

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