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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. root — of a plant
  3. tube — the underground
  4. field — for sport
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tube — a container
  7. root — of a word
  8. cell — in biology
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. root — the cause
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. lean — thin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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