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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: bank · root · face · clip · kid · swing · key · ground

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. face — to confront
  3. swing — to play on
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — child
  7. key — for a lock
  8. swing — music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — the most important part
  17. ground — a position
  18. root — the cause
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bank — of a river
  22. key — in music
  23. root — of a word
  24. swing — in golf

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