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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. root — the cause
  3. season — of the year
  4. root — of a plant
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. season — in sport
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wind — moving air
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. kid — to tease
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — of a word

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