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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — the cause
  4. charge — in control
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. charge — a price
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. charge — electricity
  15. root — of a word
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — for paper

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