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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. root — of a word
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. key — in music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — the cause
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bark — to shout
  22. content — happy
  23. key — the most important part
  24. content — the amount

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