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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 120 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 · root · wound · fall · bat · nail · mark · row

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. root — the cause
  3. fall — the season
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. root — of a word
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mark — a grade
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — a stem cell

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