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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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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: root · cold · stem · bat · bank · chair · pop · perch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bank — for money
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — soda
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. stem — to come from
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bat — in an idiom

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