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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. root — the cause
  11. dip — to sink
  12. root — of a word
  13. snap — to click
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — temperature
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. root — of a plant
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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