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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — the cause
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cell — in biology
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. fine — all right
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — of a word
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. roll — a list
  21. fine — high quality
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cold — the Cold War

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