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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: wave · land · bulb · spring · stem · root · pitcher · clip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — to come down
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — for light
  15. land — ground
  16. spring — of water
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spring — the season
  20. stem — to come from
  21. clip — a video
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. root — the cause
  24. land — a country

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