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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: root · stem · kick · present · perch · fan · rest · band

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. band — a ring
  5. present — the time now
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. present — there
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kick — in football
  11. root — of a word
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. band — a music group
  19. root — the cause
  20. stem — to come from
  21. root — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. present — a gift

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