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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. root — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. root — of a word
  15. court — of a king
  16. root — the cause
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bore — to tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. court — for sport
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. court — of law
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. clip — a video

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