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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · root · hand · rush · straw · field · hide · cap

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rush — hurry
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cap — a hat
  11. root — the cause
  12. field — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. root — of a plant
  18. chair — a leader
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. hand — help
  23. root — of a word
  24. chair — a professorship

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