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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. root — of a word
  3. kid — to tease
  4. clip — a video
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — an illness
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bank — for money
  11. root — the cause
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. degree — from a university
  17. key — the most important part
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kid — child
  24. key — in music

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