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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: root · field · clip · rush · sharp · cell

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. field — for sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — a phone
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rush — hurry
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — for paper
  17. root — of a plant
  18. clip — a video

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