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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. root — the cause
  6. clip — a video
  7. root — of a word
  8. kick — in football
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hand — help
  14. roll — a cake
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. roll — a list
  18. hand — in cards
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. suit — clothes
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — 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