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

Word bank: root · chair · cell · tear · straw · date · hand · roll

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chair — a leader
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. date — the fruit
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hand — in cards
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tear — to rip
  22. roll — a list
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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