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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. root — of a word
  2. pit — in a race
  3. season — of the year
  4. pit — a hole
  5. drill — a practice
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. root — the cause
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. rush — hurry
  12. drill — the tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. root — of a plant
  18. drill — army training
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. clip — to cut
  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