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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — to paddle
  6. present — there
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. rock — a stone
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. present — the time now
  12. rock — music
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — to cut
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. row — a line
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. temple — a place of worship

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