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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: straw · wind · swing · hand · snap · bay · root · rest

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. hand — help
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rest — a break
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. snap — to click
  24. bay — a horse colour

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