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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: mine · straw · root · row · rest · scale · snap · bulb

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. root — the cause
  3. rest — what's left
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — a line
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bulb — for light
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to click
  19. mine — for digging
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rest — a break
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. root — of a plant
  24. scale — in music

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