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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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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: wind · straw · foot · degree · face · root · stock · calf

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. root — of a word
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. face — to confront
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. face — to point toward
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stock — shares
  24. calf — of the leg

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