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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a word
  4. march — the month
  5. track — a path
  6. degree — temperature
  7. net — for catching
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a song
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — from a university
  12. court — for sport
  13. root — the cause
  14. degree — an amount
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. root — of a plant
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  24. net — after costs

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