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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. root — the cause
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tube — the underground
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tube — a container
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. kid — child
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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