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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.

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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: leaves · court · deal · clip · root · tear · bulb · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. root — of a word
  4. pass — a permit
  5. deal — to handle
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. court — for sport
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. court — of a king
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a plant
  19. court — of law
  20. tear — to rip
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. root — the cause
  23. clip — a video
  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