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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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 — of a plant
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — army training
  5. prune — to trim
  6. object — a thing
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. object — to protest
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. root — the cause
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. face — part of the head
  14. root — of a word
  15. clip — to cut
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — a practice
  18. object — an aim
  19. clip — a video
  20. face — to confront
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  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