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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. root — the cause
  3. rest — a break
  4. pit — a hole
  5. clip — a video
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. root — of a word
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. band — a ring
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rest — what's left

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