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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: root · mate · clip · trunk · dip · board · leaves · kick

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. kick — in football
  6. board — to get on
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. root — of a word
  14. mate — to breed
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — a friend
  21. root — of a plant
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. root — the cause
  24. mate — a partner

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