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

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a plant
  4. club — for dancing
  5. snap — to click
  6. stock — goods
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stem — to come from
  11. board — a committee
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stock — shares
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — an illness
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stem — of a plant

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