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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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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: stem · pop · straw · cold · rest · lash · lie · root

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. root — of a word
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — a break
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pop — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lie — to recline
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pop — soda

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