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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. stock — shares
  4. bore — to drill
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. degree — an amount
  18. net — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. stock — goods
  21. root — of a word
  22. bore — to tire
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — the cause

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