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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ground — crushed
  6. snap — to click
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — from a university
  10. root — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — the earth
  13. root — the cause
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — a position
  23. root — of a word
  24. calf — of the leg

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