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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. root — the cause
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — a phone
  9. root — of a word
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. dip — to sink
  12. clip — to cut
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — to paddle
  18. dip — a sauce

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