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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. firm — steady
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — magic
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. root — of a plant
  7. firm — a company
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — temperature
  14. root — of a word
  15. firm — decided
  16. content — happy
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spell — a short time
  19. content — the amount
  20. root — the cause
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. spell — letters
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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