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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
468
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 · chest · cabinet · straw · bear · ground · scale · season

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. root — of a word
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. scale — in music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. root — the cause
  12. ground — a position
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. season — in sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bear — the animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — a box
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bear — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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