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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ground — crushed
  3. can — to be able to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. band — a ring
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. band — a music group
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. clip — a video
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. can — a tin
  14. ground — the earth
  15. root — of a word
  16. staff — employees
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. can — a tin
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. root — the cause
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — a position

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