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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. tube — a container
  4. root — of a plant
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — the cause
  11. tube — the underground
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. season — of the year
  16. wound — an injury
  17. season — in sport
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. stock — goods
  24. root — of a word

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