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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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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bear — the animal
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — a position
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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