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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. root — of a word
  4. track — a song
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cap — a hat
  7. track — a path
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cap — a lid
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. root — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — goods
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stock — shares
  24. root — the cause

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