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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. prune — to trim
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — to cut
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. clip — for paper
  12. root — of a word
  13. track — a path
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — a stick
  17. root — the cause
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. kid — to tease
  21. track — a song
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — child

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