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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. root — of a plant
  6. current — happening now
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. current — electric
  9. root — of a word
  10. pound — a weight
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. current — of water
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — soda
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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