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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: row · capital · kid · degree · root · mine · wax · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kick — in football
  5. root — the cause
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — money
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — to grow
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mine — for digging
  24. root — of a word

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