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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: bay · rush · ball · bat · dip · branch · root · straw

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bat — the animal
  4. root — of a word
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. root — the cause
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rush — hurry
  12. dip — to sink
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ball — a dance
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. root — of a plant
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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