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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. root — of a word
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. root — the cause
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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