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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a city
  8. root — of a word
  9. degree — temperature
  10. root — the cause
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. root — of a plant
  13. press — to push
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fall — the season
  16. press — a publisher
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. craft — boats
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — from a university

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