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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. clip — a video
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — the season
  9. root — of a word
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. spring — of water
  22. present — a gift
  23. spring — a coil
  24. present — the time now

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