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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: snap · last · chest · root · stem · safe · row · lie

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. snap — to click
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a line
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lie — to recline
  9. root — of a word
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. root — the cause
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. root — of a plant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stem — a stem cell

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