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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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468
Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. root — the cause
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cold — an illness
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — an injury

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