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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pit — a hole
  7. root — the cause
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pass — a permit
  11. ball — a dance
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pit — in a race
  14. root — of a plant
  15. shower — to wash
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — from a university
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. shower — rain
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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