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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: root · file · degree · club · clip · last · hide · lash

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. root — the cause
  3. club — for golf
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — an amount
  14. root — of a word
  15. degree — temperature
  16. last — final
  17. clip — a video
  18. root — of a plant
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. file — a tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. clip — to cut

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