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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. present — there
  3. root — of a word
  4. saw — the tool
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — crushed
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. root — the cause
  11. present — the time now
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — a gift
  15. bark — to shout
  16. root — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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