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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bear — the animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. court — of law
  5. key — in music
  6. drill — army training
  7. degree — temperature
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. root — of a word
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. key — the most important part
  17. court — of a king
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rush — hurry
  20. court — for sport
  21. key — for a lock
  22. root — the cause
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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