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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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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: deal · face · root · snap · clip · pitcher · pound · last

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. root — of a word
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — a video
  7. face — to confront
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to click
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pound — a weight
  17. face — part of the head
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. face — to point toward
  22. last — final
  23. root — the cause
  24. last — finally

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