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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. season — in sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — of the year
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chest — of your body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chest — a box
  14. root — the cause
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. season — to add flavour

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