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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · clip · kick · wax · cell · net · root · bark

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — in football
  4. root — of a plant
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cell — a phone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — in sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. root — the cause

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