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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. scale — in music
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rest — a break
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rest — what's left
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. season — of the year
  21. rest — what's left
  22. root — the cause
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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