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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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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: fan · content · board · last · root · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. last — finally
  3. board — a committee
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. last — to go on
  7. content — happy
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. content — the amount
  12. root — of a plant
  13. last — final
  14. root — the cause
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. board — to get on
  18. fan — a supporter

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