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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: clip · wind · date · kid · bay · ground · firm · root

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. clip — to cut
  6. firm — steady
  7. ground — crushed
  8. firm — decided
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. clip — a video
  12. kid — child
  13. root — of a word
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. date — the fruit
  16. firm — a company
  17. root — the cause
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — to tease
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — the earth
  24. date — on the calendar

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