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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — a box
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. degree — from a university
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. root — of a plant
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a word
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. root — the cause
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. bay — a horse colour

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