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

Word bank: stand · land · temple · drill · kick · straw · race · root

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. race — a contest
  7. root — of a plant
  8. kick — in football
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. root — the cause
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. drill — army training
  14. race — humankind
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. land — a country
  18. root — of a word
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. drill — a practice
  23. race — the arms race
  24. temple — a place of worship

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