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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. race — a contest
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — humankind
  12. root — of a word
  13. capital — a city
  14. mate — to breed
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bat — the animal
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mate — a friend
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mate — a partner

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