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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. press — to push
  5. court — of law
  6. root — the cause
  7. court — of a king
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. root — of a word
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. press — a publisher
  23. root — of a plant
  24. press — newspapers

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