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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. lean — thin
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. season — of the year
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. sharp — clever
  9. root — of a plant
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. root — the cause
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. season — in sport
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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