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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. rock — music
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — of a king
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. root — the cause
  7. mate — a partner
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — a skill
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — an amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. mate — a friend
  14. court — of law
  15. craft — boats
  16. rock — a stone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mate — to breed
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. rock — to move gently

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