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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stem — to come from
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — a video
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. root — the cause
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ball — a great time
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. sharp — clever
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. ruler — for measuring

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