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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — a video
  4. lean — to bend
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pop — soda
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cue — a hint
  15. lean — thin
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. root — of a word
  18. roll — a list
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pop — to visit
  23. root — the cause
  24. clip — to cut

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