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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. foot — a measure
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — the season
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — to drill
  19. root — the cause
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bore — to tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — a coil

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