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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — for paper
  3. root — the cause
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. root — of a plant
  6. spring — of water
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. spring — the season
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pass — a permit
  22. root — of a word
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bulb — for light

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