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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: tear · staff · mine · stem · pitcher · scale · hand · root

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. staff — employees
  3. stem — to come from
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. scale — size or range
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. staff — a stick
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. staff — employees
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — help
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. scale — for weighing

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