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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. race — the arms race
  5. root — of a plant
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. rest — what's left
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — crushed
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ground — the earth
  20. race — a contest
  21. ground — a position
  22. race — humankind
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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