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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. hand — in cards
  3. root — of a word
  4. band — a ring
  5. stock — shares
  6. dip — to sink
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — a straw man

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