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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pop — music
  3. root — of a word
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — finally
  6. key — in music
  7. root — of a plant
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — to go on
  10. root — the cause
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. key — for a lock
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. last — final
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. plane — a tool
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. pop — soda
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pop — to visit

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