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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. root — the cause
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bore — to tire
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. court — of a king
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. court — of law
  19. root — of a plant
  20. court — for sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bulb — of a plant

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