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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. root — of a word
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — for paper
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. root — of a plant
  7. object — a thing
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. object — to protest
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. prune — to trim
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. object — an aim
  24. root — the cause

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