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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. field — for sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bound — tied together
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — farmland
  8. root — of a word
  9. snap — to click
  10. bound — certain
  11. date — the fruit
  12. field — a subject
  13. bound — obliged
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stem — to come from
  19. root — the cause
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. clip — for paper
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — a stem cell

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