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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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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: craft · face · pit · mug · cold · clip · pound · root

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — an illness
  4. face — to confront
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pit — a hole
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. craft — a skill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — a video
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mug — a face
  17. face — to point toward
  18. mug — to rob
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cold — not warm
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pound — for dogs

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