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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — for paper
  5. shower — to wash
  6. root — the cause
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. dip — to sink
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — of a word
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. band — a ring
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. suit — clothes
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wind — moving air

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