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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. root — the cause
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pit — a hole
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — low music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. root — of a word
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — a line

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