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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — child
  5. root — of a plant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mate — a partner
  8. root — the cause
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rock — a stone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mate — to breed
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spell — magic
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. shower — rain
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mate — a friend
  24. degree — an amount

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