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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.

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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. root — the cause
  3. rule — government
  4. swing — to play on
  5. last — final
  6. root — of a word
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — in golf
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bulb — for light
  16. clip — a video
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — to go on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rule — a law
  23. swing — music
  24. bulb — for light

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