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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ground — the earth
  5. shower — rain
  6. craft — boats
  7. content — the amount
  8. root — of a plant
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — finally
  11. root — the cause
  12. clip — a video
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — of a word
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. ground — a position
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. last — final
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. content — happy
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ground — crushed

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