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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. root — the cause
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pit — in a race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. root — of a word

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