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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — for paper
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — an illness
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kick — in football
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. root — the cause
  15. scale — in music
  16. row — to paddle
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — help
  21. root — of a plant
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. kick — with a leg

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