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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. root — of a word
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ball — a great time
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. root — the cause
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. charge — a price
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. ball — a dance
  14. club — for golf
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a plant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — temperature
  22. club — a group
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — for paper

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