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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 120 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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. root — the cause
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. last — to go on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. root — of a word
  15. season — in sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. season — of the year
  23. last — final
  24. chest — a box

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