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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 120 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 · mate · saw · root · fork · mouse · bass · clip

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — a video
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. root — of a word
  11. present — there
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. present — a gift
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bass — the fish

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