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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 124 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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. root — of a word
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. season — in sport
  7. plane — a tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — the fish
  14. clip — to cut
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — in sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. clip — for paper
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. net — for catching
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. net — after costs

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