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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. root — of a word
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — to come from
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. root — of a plant
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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