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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: hand · last · root · snap · rule · safe · staff · degree

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. last — final
  3. root — of a word
  4. rule — government
  5. hand — help
  6. root — the cause
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. rule — a law
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to click
  21. last — finally
  22. root — of a plant
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. staff — employees

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