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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — for paper
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. root — of a word
  7. club — for golf
  8. drill — army training
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — of a plant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. can — a tin
  13. root — the cause
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. clip — a video
  17. can — to be able to
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — a group
  20. rest — a break
  21. club — for dancing
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. can — a tin
  24. drill — a practice

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