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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. root — of a word
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. root — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — letters
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — to cut
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. root — the cause
  21. wake — a trail
  22. deal — to handle
  23. row — a line
  24. deal — a big deal

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