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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — to visit
  3. board — to get on
  4. pop — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. root — the cause
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. race — humankind
  9. kick — in football
  10. board — a committee
  11. root — of a plant
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. row — a line
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pop — soda
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. root — of a word
  21. race — the arms race
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — a contest
  24. row — to paddle

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