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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bound — certain
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — obliged
  12. root — of a word
  13. pitch — completely
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wake — before a funeral

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