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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: net · present · rock · wind · root · clip · mine · firm

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. present — a gift
  3. net — for catching
  4. firm — a company
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — the time now
  7. rock — music
  8. firm — steady
  9. mine — for digging
  10. clip — to cut
  11. root — of a word
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — the cause
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — in sport
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. net — after costs
  19. clip — a video
  20. rock — a stone
  21. firm — decided
  22. present — there
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — belonging to me

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