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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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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kick — in football
  3. saw — the tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. root — of a word
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. degree — an amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cue — a hint
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. root — the cause
  22. degree — temperature
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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