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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stem — to come from
  3. content — the amount
  4. root — of a word
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. suit — to fit
  11. root — of a plant
  12. suit — in cards
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. suit — clothes
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. root — the cause
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. field — a subject

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