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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — the season
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wake — a trail
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. scale — in music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fine — all right
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. scale — size or range
  23. root — of a plant
  24. hand — part of the body

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