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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 120 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: straw · wind · root · rock · chip · clip · court · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — for sport
  6. root — the cause
  7. clip — a video
  8. rock — a stone
  9. court — of a king
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — of a word
  12. clip — to cut
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chip — to eat
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of law
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rock — music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. clip — for paper

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