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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — a box
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a word
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — in music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — the cause
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. toast — bread
  23. chest — of your body
  24. toast — the most admired

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