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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. charge — in control
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — of water
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — a line
  18. spring — a coil
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. saw — the tool
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. root — of a word

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