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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. root — the cause
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ball — a dance
  6. clip — to cut
  7. root — of a word
  8. kick — in football
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. court — of law
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — a video
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. court — of a king
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. court — for sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. root — of a plant
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ball — a great time

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