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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: spell · clip · chair · root · ground · file · squash · scale

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. clip — for paper
  2. scale — in music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ground — a position
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a document
  9. squash — the sport
  10. clip — a video
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spell — a short time
  14. root — the cause
  15. file — a tool
  16. ground — crushed
  17. scale — size or range
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — magic
  20. root — of a word
  21. squash — to crush
  22. file — a line of people
  23. spell — letters
  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