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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — humankind
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — farmland
  7. bulb — for light
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — a subject
  10. chip — to eat
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. root — of a word
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — to cut
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. root — the cause
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  24. squash — the sport

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