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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: drill · stem · season · root · chest · jam · perch · fork

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chest — a box
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. drill — the tool
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. chest — of your body
  10. root — of a word
  11. drill — a practice
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stem — to come from
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. fork — in a road
  16. season — of the year
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. season — in sport
  19. root — the cause
  20. drill — army training
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. stem — of a plant

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