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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. track — to keep track
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. root — the cause
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — completely
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — for sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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