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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. capital — money
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. capital — a city
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spring — of water
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. root — the cause
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rest — a break
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. root — of a plant

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