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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chest — a box
  3. root — of a plant
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mark — a trace
  6. content — the amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — the season
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a grade
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. root — of a word
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. last — finally
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — of water
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — happy
  24. chest — of your body

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