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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 · plane · tear · root · squash · kick · hand · clip

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — a video
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — temperature
  13. hand — help
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — of a word
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. kick — in football
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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