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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spring — of water
  7. root — of a plant
  8. object — to protest
  9. stem — to come from
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. root — the cause
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. spring — the season
  21. root — of a word
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. stem — of a plant

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