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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. root — the cause
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. root — of a plant
  7. swing — in golf
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. swing — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a word
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — rain
  24. bay — a horse colour

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