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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 116 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: snap · kid · straw · net · root · lean · cold · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. root — the cause
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. net — after costs
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. root — of a word
  15. snap — to click
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — child
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lean — thin
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — an illness
  24. root — of a plant

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