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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 need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — rain
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — a video
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. board — to get on
  16. root — of a word
  17. board — a committee
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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