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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 116 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: stem · cell · hand · saw · root · capital · court · press

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. hand — in cards
  4. press — to push
  5. cell — in biology
  6. saw — the tool
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. press — newspapers
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. court — of law
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. court — for sport
  19. stem — to come from
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — money
  24. press — a publisher

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