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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pop — to visit
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cue — a signal
  5. pop — music
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. cue — a hint
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pop — soda
  11. root — of a word
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — the cause
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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