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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. ball — a great time
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rock — music
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. root — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — moving air
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rock — a stone
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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