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

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — temperature
  3. root — the cause
  4. degree — from a university
  5. root — of a word
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chest — a box
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chest — of your body

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