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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — of a plant
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. swing — to play on
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. drill — a practice
  10. root — the cause
  11. craft — boats
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — army training
  14. root — of a word
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. ball — a great time
  19. clip — for paper
  20. craft — a skill
  21. drill — the tool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — for a hammer

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