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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: root · bay · game · stock · cell · kid · ruler · straw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stock — shares
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. root — of a plant
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. root — the cause
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stock — goods
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. cell — in biology

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