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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. root — the cause
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ground — crushed
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. content — the amount
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. root — of a word
  22. file — a document
  23. ground — a position
  24. bark — to shout

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