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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: wind · can · arm · cold · straw · root · land · bay

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. root — the cause
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. can — a tin
  15. root — of a word
  16. land — ground
  17. root — of a plant
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. can — to be able to
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — a country
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. land — to come down

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