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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. present — there
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. stem — to come from
  5. can — a tin
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. capital — a city
  9. root — of a plant
  10. present — the time now
  11. root — the cause
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. can — to be able to
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. capital — money
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pit — in a race
  23. can — a tin
  24. present — a gift

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