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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. root — of a word
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. root — the cause
  12. bark — to shout
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. root — of a plant
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. key — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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