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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. root — of a word
  3. kick — in football
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a signal
  7. root — the cause
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. clip — a video
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. root — of a plant
  17. march — music
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — the month
  23. cue — a hint
  24. clip — to cut

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