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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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Word bank
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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 · rash · bat · band · straw · key · rest · saw

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. saw — the tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. rash — a series
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. key — for a lock
  10. root — the cause
  11. band — a music group
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. key — in music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rest — what's left
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. key — the most important part
  24. rest — a break

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