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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 120 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 need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — in cards
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spring — the season
  14. hand — help
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. spring — of water
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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