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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: trunk · tear · stand · pitch · clip · root · bore · wave

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. root — of a word
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. root — the cause
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stand — to bear
  14. clip — to cut
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to drill
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wave — with your hand

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