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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: wake · wound · foot · clip · straw · root · ball · ruler

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. root — of a word
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. root — the cause
  6. wake — a trail
  7. ball — a great time
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — a video
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — to cut
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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