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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. root — the cause
  4. last — finally
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. swing — music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. swing — in golf
  9. last — final
  10. root — of a word
  11. last — to go on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — money
  16. lean — thin
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — shares
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — for sport
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. court — of a king
  23. stock — goods
  24. swing — to play on

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