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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 116 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. staff — employees
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. staff — a stick
  9. hand — help
  10. squash — the sport
  11. drill — the tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. root — of a plant
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. lean — to bend
  20. root — of a word
  21. game — wild animals
  22. root — the cause
  23. staff — employees
  24. straw — a straw man

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