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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 120 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tube — the underground
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — to cut
  8. present — there
  9. root — of a word
  10. bank — for money
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. root — the cause
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — a gift
  18. game — a match
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bank — for money
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — not warm
  24. present — the time now

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