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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · clip · craft · cabinet · rush · root · cold · rock

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. root — of a word
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. root — of a plant
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rock — a stone
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. root — the cause
  23. cold — an illness
  24. craft — boats

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