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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — thin
  4. can — a tin
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. root — of a word
  10. can — a tin
  11. pound — a weight
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lean — to bend
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — the cause
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. can — to be able to

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