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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. rock — a stone
  4. ground — crushed
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. club — for golf
  8. root — the cause
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. net — after costs
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — to come from

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