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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. root — of a word
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pitch — completely
  7. clip — to cut
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ground — a position
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. root — the cause
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stock — goods
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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