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

Word bank: mouse · root · cold · kid · kick · key · sharp · saw

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — in football
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. key — for a lock
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. root — of a word
  14. kid — to tease
  15. sharp — clever
  16. key — in music
  17. root — the cause
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. kid — child
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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