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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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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — of a plant
  3. last — finally
  4. root — of a word
  5. last — final
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spell — a short time
  12. root — the cause
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. clip — a video
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a committee
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. nail — on a finger

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