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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 · fall · snap · stem · stand · straw · tear · kid

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a plant
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. root — of a word
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — from crying
  22. snap — to click
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. root — the cause

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