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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — music
  6. root — of a plant
  7. court — of law
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stem — to come from
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. root — the cause
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — hurry
  19. swing — to play on
  20. court — of a king
  21. root — of a word
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stem — of a plant

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