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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. root — the cause
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. current — happening now
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — of water
  15. staff — employees
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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