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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. root — of a word
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — a weight
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — the cause
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — of a plant
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. spring — of water

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