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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fall — the season
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wax — to grow
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. root — of a plant
  18. ground — a position
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. plane — a tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — temperature

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