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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 · jam · clip · chest · mouse · cabinet · straw · fall

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. root — the cause
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. root — of a word
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — the season
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — a box
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. root — of a plant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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