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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: date · clip · can · key · root · net · row · cold

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. can — a tin
  4. root — of a plant
  5. net — for catching
  6. can — to be able to
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cold — an illness
  9. root — of a word
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. row — a line
  12. net — after costs
  13. key — in music
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — for a lock
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — in sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. root — the cause
  24. clip — for paper

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