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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. key — for a lock
  3. root — of a word
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. root — of a plant
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. clip — a video
  13. game — wild animals
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — the cause
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chip — to eat

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