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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mine — for digging
  15. staff — employees
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. staff — a stick
  21. root — of a word
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. nail — on a finger

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