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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 124 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. root — the cause
  3. clip — a video
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — rain

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