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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — music
  4. root — the cause
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. net — after costs
  10. firm — a company
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. net — for catching
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. firm — steady
  19. root — of a plant
  20. firm — decided
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. root — of a word

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