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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 116 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: stand · straw · snap · field · march · root · wake · rash

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stand — to bear
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. field — a subject
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rash — a series
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — the cause
  14. field — farmland
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to click
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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