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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — for paper
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — for catching
  11. staff — a stick
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — after costs
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. hand — in cards
  22. branch — a division
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. prune — the fruit

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