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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. kick — in football
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — for catching
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. net — in sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — a video
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. root — of a plant
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. net — after costs
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — the cause
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chip — for betting
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. chip — to eat
  24. clip — for paper

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