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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · coach · chest · root · spell · bear · band · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spell — a short time
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bear — the animal
  11. track — a song
  12. band — a ring
  13. root — the cause
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — letters
  20. bear — the animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. root — of a word
  23. track — a path
  24. spell — magic

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