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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rock — music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bat — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. root — the cause
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rock — to move gently

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