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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 116 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. root — of a plant
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ground — crushed
  7. root — of a word
  8. pass — a permit
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. root — the cause
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — a city
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stem — to come from
  18. capital — money
  19. ground — a position
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. branch — of a bank

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