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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: firm · ruler · bat · cold · nail · straw · root · wind

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — not warm
  4. root — the cause
  5. firm — steady
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. firm — decided
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — a company
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — an illness
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — on a finger

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