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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. net — after costs
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — music
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. clip — for paper
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kick — in football
  23. race — humankind
  24. swing — to play on

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