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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. roll — a list
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. roll — a cake
  10. wax — to grow
  11. root — the cause
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a match
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mine — for digging
  17. root — of a word
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. game — wild animals
  20. root — of a plant
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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