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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 · root · face · racket · deal · present · snap · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. present — the time now
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. root — of a word
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to click
  7. clip — to cut
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. present — there
  11. face — to confront
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. root — the cause
  16. face — part of the head
  17. shower — rain
  18. present — a gift
  19. deal — to handle
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. root — of a plant
  22. clip — a video
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. face — to point toward

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