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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. court — of a king
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — crushed
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. degree — temperature
  13. root — of a word
  14. dip — to sink
  15. court — for sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. root — the cause
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rush — a thrill

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