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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. root — of a word
  4. court — of a king
  5. face — part of the head
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — to bear
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. face — to point toward
  14. root — of a plant
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to confront
  22. root — the cause
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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