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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. root — of a word
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — employees
  8. root — of a plant
  9. kid — to tease
  10. clip — a video
  11. staff — employees
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — money
  14. face — to point toward
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — to cut
  17. root — the cause
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — to confront
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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