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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 116 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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. clip — to cut
  3. root — the cause
  4. last — to go on
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. last — final
  9. band — a music group
  10. clip — a video
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mine — for digging
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. root — of a plant
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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