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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: board · game · stem · racket · root · kick · fall · content

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stem — to come from
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. board — to get on
  9. root — of a word
  10. fall — to drop
  11. root — the cause
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. content — happy
  14. game — a match
  15. root — of a plant
  16. fall — the season
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. game — wild animals

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