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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bass — the fish
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wake — a trail
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. content — happy
  11. race — humankind
  12. root — the cause
  13. cue — a signal
  14. content — the amount
  15. bass — low music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. clip — a video
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rush — hurry

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