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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hand — help
  12. roll — a list
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. degree — temperature
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. root — the cause
  19. plane — a tool
  20. root — of a word
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. degree — from a university

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