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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. root — of a plant
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. clip — a video
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kick — in football
  10. root — of a word
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rash — a series
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — rain

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