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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 · roll · ground · root · band · cell · firm · wind

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. firm — decided
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — steady
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. roll — a cake
  13. band — a music group
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stem — to come from
  24. root — of a plant

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