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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. root — of a word
  3. net — after costs
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — in sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — to cut
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. snap — to click
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. root — of a plant
  17. staff — employees
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. clip — for paper
  20. net — for catching
  21. root — the cause
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. clip — a video

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