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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. game — a match
  4. degree — temperature
  5. root — of a plant
  6. press — to push
  7. root — of a word
  8. present — a gift
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — wild animals
  11. present — there
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. press — newspapers
  14. present — the time now
  15. root — the cause
  16. press — a publisher
  17. degree — an amount
  18. object — an aim

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