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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kid — child
  3. firm — steady
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. root — the cause
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. firm — decided
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — a trail
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hand — help
  17. board — to get on
  18. firm — a company
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. root — of a plant
  22. snap — to click
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. root — of a word

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