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

Word bank: kid · rest · root · straw · object · present · prune · fan

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. object — an aim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. present — a gift
  6. kid — to tease
  7. root — the cause
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. root — of a plant
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — a thing
  16. kid — child
  17. object — to protest
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. root — of a word
  21. present — there
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  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