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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: shower · wake · root · snap · rash · chest · row · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — a series
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. row — to paddle
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. root — of a word
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. root — the cause
  14. row — a line
  15. chest — a box
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. root — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to click

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