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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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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: degree · bat · clip · bound · wake · root · rush · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wake — a trail
  7. root — the cause
  8. clip — to cut
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — a video
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rush — hurry
  24. bound — tied together

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