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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: chest · bear · root · leaves · stem · hand · pitch · mine

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stem — to come from
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chest — of your body

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