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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — ground
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. root — the cause
  6. land — a country
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ball — a dance
  11. root — of a word
  12. ball — a great time
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. root — of a plant
  24. calf — a young animal

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