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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 120 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: pop · fall · stem · hand · clip · degree · rock · root

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. root — the cause
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pop — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — help
  12. degree — an amount
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — of a word
  20. clip — a video
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rock — a stone

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