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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: root · charge · chair · stem · pop · hand · wind · swing

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. swing — to play on
  5. charge — a price
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pop — soda
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — to visit
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — help
  18. charge — in control
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pop — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stem — to come from
  24. root — the cause

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