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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. root — the cause
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — the month
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — a position
  19. fall — the season
  20. snap — to click
  21. root — of a word
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. root — 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