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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 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. cell — in biology
  3. root — of a word
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. field — farmland
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — high quality
  14. field — for sport
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. fine — all right
  17. stand — to bear
  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