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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — clever
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. root — of a plant
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. root — of a word
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — for sport
  21. degree — from a university
  22. root — the cause
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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