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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. root — of a plant
  3. march — music
  4. root — of a word
  5. march — the month
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — a country
  16. present — a gift
  17. land — ground
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — to come down
  23. present — the time now
  24. clip — a video

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