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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. root — of a word
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pound — a weight
  18. track — a path
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. clip — a video
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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