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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: bat · rest · root · stick · band · ruler · squash · straw

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. root — the cause
  5. band — a music group
  6. root — of a word
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. root — of a plant
  16. squash — the sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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