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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stock — goods
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kid — child
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — a law
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rule — government
  18. season — in sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — shares
  21. season — of the year
  22. root — of a plant
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. root — the cause

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