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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — of the year
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lie — to recline
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. season — in sport
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. degree — an amount
  19. root — of a word
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. sharp — exactly

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