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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitch — completely
  7. root — of a plant
  8. drill — the tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. root — the cause
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chip — for betting
  24. content — happy

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