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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: root · mine · clip · pitch · race · stem · bore · rash

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. clip — a video
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. race — the arms race
  16. root — of a plant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. race — humankind
  19. rash — hasty
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rash — a series
  24. race — a contest

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