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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. root — of a plant
  3. degree — an amount
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rush — hurry
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. root — of a word
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. root — the cause
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — to go on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rush — to hurry

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