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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. root — of a word
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. root — of a plant
  8. last — to go on
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — the cause
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — in a road
  15. last — final
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. season — of the year
  20. clip — a video
  21. season — in sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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