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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cue — a hint
  4. root — of a word
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — a video
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — to shout
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. root — of a plant
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — thin
  24. root — the cause

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