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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stem — to come from
  3. root — of a word
  4. net — after costs
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bank — of a river
  10. ball — a dance
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. club — for golf
  15. root — of a plant
  16. club — for dancing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. club — a group
  21. ball — a great time
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a round shape

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