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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: chair · shower · root · pass · clip · last · dip · hide

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. last — to go on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. last — final
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. root — the cause
  9. shower — to wash
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pass — a permit
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. dip — to sink
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. shower — rain
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. last — finally
  23. root — of a word
  24. pass — to spend time

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