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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. last — to go on
  3. root — of a word
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — final
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. mug — a cup
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. root — of a plant
  17. mug — a face
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — a coil
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mug — to rob

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