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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. scale — in music
  3. kick — in football
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — music
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. shower — to wash
  10. root — of a word
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. degree — from a university
  15. scale — size or range
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lean — thin
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — farmland
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. root — the cause
  23. lean — to bend
  24. march — the month

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