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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — to cut
  7. root — the cause
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. court — for sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. court — of law
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. root — of a plant
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fine — high quality
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fine — all right
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. stem — to come from
  24. clip — a video

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