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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: root · rash · hand · straw · fork · bat · game · pit

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. game — a match
  6. root — of a plant
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bat — the animal

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