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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. band — a music group
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — of a word
  6. spell — letters
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. spell — magic
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. root — of a plant
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. root — the cause
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. roll — a list
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a ring
  24. saw — the tool

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