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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 · kid · rash · safe · root · last · row · perch

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. kid — to tease
  9. root — the cause
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. last — final
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. root — of a word
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a plant
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — child
  21. row — to paddle
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rash — hasty
  24. perch — the fish

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