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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — to handle
  4. root — of a plant
  5. season — in sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. capital — money
  8. swing — in golf
  9. season — of the year
  10. drill — the tool
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. root — the cause
  14. clip — to cut
  15. capital — a city
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. swing — to play on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. swing — music
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. deal — an agreement

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