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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. root — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. net — after costs
  8. root — the cause
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — of ice
  17. net — for catching
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a word
  24. cold — the Cold War

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