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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — not warm
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. prune — to trim
  12. root — of a word
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bank — of a river
  15. degree — from a university
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bank — for money
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — the cause
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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