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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: mug · perch · coach · stem · root · last · land · fall

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. perch — the fish
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. last — final
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a face
  8. fall — the season
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — finally
  11. root — of a plant
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — to go on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mug — a cup
  24. stem — a stem cell

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