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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. game — a match
  3. kick — in football
  4. rest — what's left
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a line of people
  9. root — of a word
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — in music
  12. root — of a plant
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. root — the cause
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. stem — to come from

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