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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.

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: clip · cold · press · craft · track · lie · mouse · root

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lie — to recline
  4. track — a song
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. root — the cause
  7. track — a path
  8. root — of a word
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. root — of a plant
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. track — to keep track
  16. clip — for paper
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — an illness
  24. clip — a video

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