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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — there
  4. stand — to bear
  5. root — of a plant
  6. swing — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. swing — to play on
  11. present — the time now
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. root — the cause
  17. game — a match
  18. swing — in golf
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. root — of a word
  22. present — a gift
  23. kid — child
  24. game — a kind of play

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