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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: spell · present · stem · wave · tear · mine · bat · root

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. present — the time now
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — letters
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. spell — magic
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — there
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — a gift
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. tear — to rip
  23. root — the cause
  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