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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. root — the cause
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. key — the most important part
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — in music
  10. season — in sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. root — of a word
  16. season — of the year
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. key — for a lock
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. season — to add flavour

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