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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: root · pit · file · wax · degree · cell · clip · snap

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. root — the cause
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — from a university
  7. root — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — of a word
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. snap — to click
  20. file — a document
  21. cell — a phone
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a hole
  24. degree — temperature

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