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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: coach · content · hand · snap · straw · bowl · root · last

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. root — of a word
  3. last — final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hand — help
  7. last — finally
  8. content — the amount
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to click
  14. root — the cause
  15. last — to go on
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. root — of a plant
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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