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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. root — of a word
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — the cause
  7. bound — tied together
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — rain
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — a line
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bound — obliged

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