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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. root — the cause
  3. club — a group
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — temperature
  8. root — of a word
  9. fine — high quality
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fine — all right
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — from a university
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — for dancing
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wound — an injury

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