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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 116 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — temperature
  3. root — the cause
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. dip — to sink
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — a thing
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. object — to protest
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. staff — employees
  20. rash — hasty
  21. object — an aim
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. staff — a stick

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