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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. staff — a stick
  7. key — for a lock
  8. staff — employees
  9. key — the most important part
  10. plane — a tool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. degree — from a university
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. date — the fruit
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. degree — an amount
  19. root — the cause
  20. degree — temperature
  21. key — in music
  22. root — of a plant
  23. staff — employees
  24. plane — in geometry

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