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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a line of people
  4. field — farmland
  5. press — to push
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — a video
  8. field — a subject
  9. ground — a position
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. root — of a plant
  19. lean — to bend
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. root — of a word
  24. lean — thin

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