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

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. roll — a list
  5. degree — temperature
  6. roll — a cake
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. degree — an amount
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. root — the cause
  13. sharp — clever
  14. root — of a word
  15. spring — of water
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lie — to recline
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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