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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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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: clip · net · cap · stem · wound · root · vault · prune

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. net — after costs
  11. stem — to come from
  12. net — for catching
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — to trim
  21. root — the cause
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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