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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 is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. spring — of water
  5. hand — help
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bulb — for light
  10. root — of a word
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — the fish
  15. track — to keep track
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — to eat
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. root — the cause
  22. track — a path
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stem — of a plant

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