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

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. root — of a plant
  3. charge — electricity
  4. land — to come down
  5. root — of a word
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — ground
  11. charge — a price
  12. land — a country
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. root — the cause
  17. charge — in control
  18. clip — to cut

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