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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: hand · straw · mark · date · bay · root · cabinet · tear

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. root — the cause
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mark — a trace
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. tear — to rip
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hand — part of the body

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