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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. land — ground
  3. lean — to bend
  4. root — of a word
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. root — of a plant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bark — to shout
  15. root — the cause
  16. lean — thin
  17. land — to come down
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — a country
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bank — for money
  24. ground — crushed

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