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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: bore · tear · root · stem · band · pitcher · clip · object

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — to tire
  4. root — of a word
  5. object — an aim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. root — the cause
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stem — to come from
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. bore — to drill
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tear — from crying

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