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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stem — to come from
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. root — of a word
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cell — a phone
  12. root — the cause
  13. field — for sport
  14. fork — in a road
  15. field — a subject
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. field — farmland
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. root — of a plant
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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