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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. file — a tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. root — of a plant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. root — of a word
  7. saw — the tool
  8. present — there
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — a video
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. clip — to cut
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. wake — a trail
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. file — a document
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — for paper
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. present — the time now
  24. wake — before a funeral

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