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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 the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. root — of a word
  4. rest — a break
  5. track — to keep track
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. last — to go on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. root — the cause
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cue — a hint
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. rest — what's left
  20. track — a song
  21. clip — for paper
  22. last — final
  23. track — a path
  24. root — of a plant

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