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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. hand — help
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. root — of a word
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. root — the cause
  18. shower — rain
  19. stem — to come from
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. swing — to play on
  23. root — of a plant
  24. dip — to sink

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