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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cap — a lid
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. row — a line
  16. degree — from a university
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — of a word
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — the cause
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — of ice

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