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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · mate · kick · tear · content · root

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. mate — a friend
  6. kick — in football
  7. root — the cause
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. content — the amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. content — happy
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. root — of a word
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. root — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tear — from crying

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