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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: deal · chair · coach · row · straw · ground · bore · root

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. row — to paddle
  5. root — of a word
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — the earth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chair — a leader
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. root — the cause
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bore — to drill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — to handle
  22. root — of a plant
  23. ground — a position
  24. straw — a straw man

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