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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. swing — to play on
  3. root — of a plant
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — ground
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. swing — music
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — in golf
  18. last — final
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — of a word
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — to handle

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