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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ground — crushed
  6. tube — a container
  7. ground — a position
  8. root — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tube — the underground
  19. root — the cause
  20. bank — for money
  21. row — a line
  22. root — of a word
  23. bank — for money
  24. row — to paddle

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