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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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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: pitch · craft · stem · bass · club · pound · land · root

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. root — of a word
  3. club — for golf
  4. land — ground
  5. root — of a plant
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. root — the cause
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stem — to come from
  17. craft — boats
  18. club — a group
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pitch — completely
  21. land — a country
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — to come down

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