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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — the cause
  3. cell — in biology
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. clip — to cut
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — for paper
  9. track — a path
  10. band — a music group
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. track — to keep track
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cell — a phone
  22. field — farmland
  23. track — a song
  24. band — a ring

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