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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — size or range
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. root — the cause
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — to protest
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. object — a thing
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. root — of a plant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. clip — a video
  24. root — of a word

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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