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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cell — a phone
  5. present — there
  6. root — the cause
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. root — of a plant
  15. present — the time now
  16. band — a ring
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. present — a gift
  20. wax — to grow
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in biology

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