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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: bear · bat · object · race · trunk · clip · tear · root

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. race — humankind
  4. root — the cause
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. race — a contest
  7. object — a thing
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. object — to protest
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. object — an aim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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