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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: cap · clip · face · root · cell · rest · last · branch

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — a video
  3. cell — in biology
  4. clip — for paper
  5. root — of a word
  6. last — final
  7. cap — a lid
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — to confront
  11. rest — a break
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cell — a phone
  14. root — the cause
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cap — a hat
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — to go on
  22. cap — of ice
  23. face — part of the head
  24. root — of a plant

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