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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mark — a grade
  3. root — the cause
  4. mark — a trace
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. root — of a word
  13. tear — from crying
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — to rip
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. present — there
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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