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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 116 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. root — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. bank — of a river
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bank — for money
  8. root — the cause
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rest — a break
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a word
  23. stem — to come from
  24. last — finally

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