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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 120 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. current — happening now
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bear — the animal
  6. root — of a word
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — to rip
  12. current — electric
  13. drill — army training
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. current — of water
  19. scale — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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