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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fine — all right
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. root — of a plant
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — to cut
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — to sink
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tube — the underground
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — a phone
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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