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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. stem — to come from
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. spell — magic
  7. root — of a word
  8. scale — in music
  9. craft — boats
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. root — of a plant
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spell — letters
  21. craft — a skill
  22. row — a line
  23. root — the cause
  24. spell — a short time

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