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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — temperature
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — from a university
  14. root — of a word
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rest — what's left
  21. root — of a plant
  22. shower — rain
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rest — a break

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