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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: stem · club · press · root · cell · file · perch · field

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. root — the cause
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. club — a group
  7. press — a publisher
  8. root — of a word
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. press — newspapers
  12. perch — the fish
  13. file — a document
  14. root — of a plant
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stem — to come from
  17. club — for golf
  18. file — a tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. press — to push
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cell — in biology

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