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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. charge — electricity
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. present — a gift
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. charge — in control
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. root — the cause
  11. lean — to bend
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. charge — a price
  15. content — happy
  16. present — there
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — the amount
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. present — the time now
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lean — thin
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. root — of a word

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