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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. net — in sport
  4. club — a group
  5. root — of a plant
  6. capital — money
  7. club — for golf
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. can — to be able to
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. net — for catching
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. root — of a word
  17. rest — a break
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. root — the cause
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — a city
  23. net — after costs
  24. can — a tin

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