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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — of a word
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — the season
  10. cue — for pool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — a video
  14. root — the cause
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. capital — money
  17. cue — a hint
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cue — a signal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wound — an injury

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