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

Word bank: clip · face · file · dip · root · tear · branch · snap

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. tear — from crying
  3. root — of a word
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. snap — to click
  8. tear — from crying
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a tool
  11. branch — a division
  12. face — to point toward
  13. root — the cause
  14. face — to confront
  15. dip — to sink
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. clip — a video
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. dip — a sauce

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