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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 · bowl · stem · wind · fork · clip · bear · prune

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. root — of a plant
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — to trim

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