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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. clip — a video
  3. content — happy
  4. chip — for betting
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — for paper
  8. content — the amount
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. file — a document
  11. court — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — to cut
  16. firm — steady
  17. court — of law
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. club — for dancing
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — decided
  24. court — of a king

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