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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 walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — a coil
  4. staff — employees
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to click
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. last — final
  11. court — of a king
  12. staff — a stick
  13. last — to go on
  14. staff — employees
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. root — of a plant
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — for paper

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