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

Word bank: degree · root · nail · pop · safe · last · bear · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — finally
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — the cause
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. root — of a word
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. last — to go on
  19. kid — child
  20. last — final
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. safe — out of danger

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