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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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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: lean · race · straw · game · stem · trunk · lash · patient

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a match
  6. stem — to come from
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. race — a contest
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. lean — thin
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — wild animals
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. patient — a sick person

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