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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. season — of the year
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. season — in sport
  5. root — of a word
  6. saw — the tool
  7. root — of a plant
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — to visit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. pop — music
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pop — soda

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