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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — the month
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. root — of a word
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. march — the month
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. root — of a plant
  13. march — music
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. root — the cause
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — to turn a key

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