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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. root — the cause
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. root — of a word
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. root — of a plant

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