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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. root — the cause
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — temperature
  7. root — of a word
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. degree — an amount
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. hand — help
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. field — for sport
  18. bass — low music
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hand — in cards

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