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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · chip · root · clip · wound · rash · stem · land

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — of a word
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. land — to come down
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — hasty

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