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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pit — in a race
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bear — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. root — the cause
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pit — a hole
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a word
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wax — in the ear

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