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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. season — of the year
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — in football
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. root — of a word
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. root — the cause
  21. staff — employees
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. swing — in golf

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