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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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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: mate · game · clip · season · fork · root · fall · race

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. season — in sport
  2. root — of a word
  3. fall — the season
  4. root — the cause
  5. clip — to cut
  6. root — of a plant
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — to breed
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. race — a contest
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. race — humankind
  18. fork — in a road
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mate — a friend
  21. season — of the year
  22. game — wild animals
  23. clip — a video
  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