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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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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: club · rush · leaves · straw · bat · root · stock · hand

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. club — for dancing
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. root — of a word
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stock — goods
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. root — the cause
  16. stock — shares
  17. hand — help
  18. club — a group
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. club — for golf
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hand — in cards
  24. straw — dry grass

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