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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. root — of a plant
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. root — of a word
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. wind — moving air
  17. root — the cause
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — to come from
  20. suit — to fit
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. content — the amount

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