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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ground — crushed
  6. root — of a plant
  7. race — humankind
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spring — of water
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ground — a position
  14. root — the cause
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. root — of a word
  18. ground — the earth

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