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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — money
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. root — of a plant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. capital — a city
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — of water
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. swing — to play on
  18. date — the fruit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — the cause
  24. degree — temperature

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