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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: bear · stem · key · pound · last · root · saw · arm

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. root — of a word
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. last — final
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. key — in music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. root — the cause
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bear — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. last — finally
  24. key — for a lock

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