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

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. root — of a plant
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. capital — money
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stem — to come from
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. fork — in a road
  18. root — of a word
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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