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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: straw · toast · kick · land · hand · lean · race · root

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — help
  6. land — to come down
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. land — a country
  9. root — of a plant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. toast — bread
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. root — the cause
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. race — humankind
  18. kick — in football
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. race — a contest
  22. lean — thin
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. root — of a word

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