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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 116 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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. clip — a video
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. can — to be able to
  8. court — for sport
  9. can — a tin
  10. court — of law
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. degree — from a university
  13. last — final
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. clip — for paper
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — of a king
  18. root — of a plant
  19. can — a tin
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. clip — to cut
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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