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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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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 · safe · bay · clip · land · chair · dip · root

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. root — of a word
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. land — a country
  12. chair — a leader
  13. land — ground
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. stem — to come from
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. root — of a plant
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. land — to come down

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