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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 120 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: straw · root · board · snap · perch · mate · chair · saw

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. perch — the fish
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. board — a committee
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mate — a partner
  17. snap — to click
  18. board — to get on
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mate — to breed
  24. straw — dry grass

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