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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — the cause
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. root — of a word
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — a video
  9. cold — an illness
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. net — in sport
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — after costs
  22. root — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. net — for catching

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