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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: present · kid · clip · field · cue · spring · key · root

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — a subject
  4. cue — a hint
  5. key — in music
  6. present — a gift
  7. root — the cause
  8. cue — a signal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — of water
  11. key — for a lock
  12. present — there
  13. field — farmland
  14. clip — to cut
  15. key — the most important part
  16. root — of a word
  17. kid — child
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cue — for pool
  22. spring — the season
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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