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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · root · stem · kick · capital · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — to come from
  6. root — of a plant
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. root — the cause
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. clip — to cut
  11. club — a group
  12. capital — money
  13. clip — for paper
  14. capital — a city
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. kick — in football

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