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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: board · season · kick · trunk · root · snap · ground · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. season — of the year
  4. root — of a plant
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. ground — crushed
  7. root — the cause
  8. snap — to click
  9. ground — a position
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. root — of a word
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. board — to get on
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. season — in sport
  21. board — a committee
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. ground — the earth

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