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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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. root — of a word
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — from a university
  8. root — the cause
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rest — a break
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. rest — what's left
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. present — the time now
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. present — there

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