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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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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: last · clip · press · row · current · fall · club · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. press — a publisher
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — a group
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — for golf
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — for paper
  11. root — the cause
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fall — the season
  15. current — electric
  16. last — final
  17. club — for dancing
  18. row — to paddle
  19. current — of water
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — to push
  22. row — a line
  23. press — newspapers
  24. current — happening now

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