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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. degree — an amount
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. land — a country
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — ground
  8. mug — a face
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mug — a cup
  11. suit — clothes
  12. mug — to rob
  13. degree — from a university
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. suit — to fit
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. degree — temperature
  20. suit — in cards
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cold — the Cold War

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