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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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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. land — ground
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. land — a country
  6. root — the cause
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mate — a partner
  10. root — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — to come down
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a word
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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