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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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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 · land · pit · stem · swing · game · pitcher · kid

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. root — of a word
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. pit — in a race
  13. land — a country
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — the cause
  16. land — ground
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — child
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. swing — to play on
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. root — of a plant

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