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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. cell — a phone
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tear — from crying
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. root — the cause
  8. bear — the animal
  9. craft — boats
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bear — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. craft — a skill
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cell — in biology

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