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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 116 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: object · ground · dip · bat · fall · straw · root · current

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. current — electric
  3. ground — crushed
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. object — a thing
  6. ground — the earth
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — a position
  10. root — the cause
  11. object — to protest
  12. root — of a plant
  13. object — an aim
  14. fall — the season
  15. root — of a word
  16. current — of water
  17. fall — to drop
  18. current — happening now
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — a sauce

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