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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · root · clip · mate · bulb · degree

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. root — the cause
  5. mate — a friend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. root — of a word
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bulb — for light
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — of a plant

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