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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. drill — the tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. drill — a practice
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. root — the cause
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. club — for golf
  20. root — of a word
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — a group
  23. mug — to rob
  24. staff — a stick

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