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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.

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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: board · clip · pitcher · pitch · root · perch · pound · stem

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. root — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. board — a committee
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. root — the cause
  21. board — to get on
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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