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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 · toast · ball · bore · root · cell · cold · nail

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — a phone
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a great time
  6. toast — bread
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bore — to tire
  9. root — the cause
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cell — in biology
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. cold — not warm
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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