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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: kick · sharp · mine · saw · pit · snap · root · file

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mine — for digging
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. root — the cause
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pit — a hole
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. snap — to click
  24. pit — in a race

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