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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 · mate · kick · tear · content · root · stem · dip

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. dip — to sink
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — the cause
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mate — a partner
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kick — in football
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — the amount
  21. root — of a word
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. content — happy

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