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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: stem · cap · plane · root · bat · cold · swing · board

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. root — the cause
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. plane — a tool
  8. board — to get on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. root — of a word
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. board — a committee
  17. swing — music
  18. root — of a plant
  19. swing — to play on
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cap — a lid
  24. plane — in geometry

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