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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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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: kick · chair · straw · net · root · pitcher · bear · present

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — there
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. present — a gift
  14. net — in sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. present — the time now
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. net — for catching
  23. root — of a plant
  24. kick — in football

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