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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pass — a permit
  3. root — the cause
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cap — a hat
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — of a plant
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. staff — employees
  24. nail — on a finger

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