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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. last — finally
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. content — happy
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. root — the cause
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. foot — a measure
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. content — videos and posts

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