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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 116 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: march · lean · root · last · stem · field · clip · shower

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. lean — thin
  3. march — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — to cut
  6. root — the cause
  7. last — final
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — to come from
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — rain
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lean — to bend
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. march — the month
  18. last — finally
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — farmland

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