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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fine — all right
  7. root — of a word
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. root — the cause
  16. date — the fruit
  17. fine — high quality
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a plant
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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