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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: prune · pop · stem · current · wound · root · present · capital

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stem — to come from
  4. present — a gift
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. current — happening now
  9. present — there
  10. root — the cause
  11. present — the time now
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — of a plant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. current — of water
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. current — electric
  19. capital — money
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pop — soda

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