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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 124 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 the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — humankind
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. roll — a cake
  16. fork — in a road
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. root — of a word
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. race — a contest
  21. root — the cause
  22. roll — a list
  23. root — of a plant
  24. race — the arms race

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