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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. file — a tool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pound — a weight
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. file — a line of people
  7. root — the cause
  8. file — a document
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. clip — for paper
  12. craft — boats
  13. root — of a word
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. clip — a video
  18. root — of a plant

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