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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. present — a gift
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a music group
  6. present — there
  7. wake — a trail
  8. spell — magic
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. root — the cause
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — a box
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — a short time
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pitch — completely
  24. clip — for paper

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