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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. branch — a division
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spell — magic
  7. root — of a word
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a grade
  11. tube — the underground
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mark — a trace
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — a video
  19. drill — army training
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. root — the cause
  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