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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pop — music
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — the cause
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — soda
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — of a plant
  21. band — a music group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. clip — for paper
  24. staff — employees

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