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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kick — in football
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. key — for a lock
  8. shower — to wash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. key — in music
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. root — of a plant
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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