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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mate — a partner
  7. roll — a list
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. root — of a word
  12. mate — a friend
  13. root — the cause
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mate — to breed
  16. capital — a city
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. drill — army training
  19. root — of a plant
  20. drill — a practice
  21. roll — a cake
  22. drill — the tool
  23. kid — child
  24. racket — for tennis

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