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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spell — magic
  5. rock — a stone
  6. ground — crushed
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. rock — music
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — of a plant
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. drill — army training
  16. root — the cause
  17. drill — a practice
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — the earth
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — a position
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — for paper

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