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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. firm — a company
  3. root — of a word
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. firm — steady
  8. ground — a position
  9. rest — what's left
  10. root — the cause
  11. march — music
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — a break
  14. ground — the earth
  15. firm — decided
  16. ground — crushed
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  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