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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · branch · cold · calf · racket · root · ground · stem

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — a position
  4. root — the cause
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stem — to come from
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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