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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The old man leaned on 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. degree — temperature
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. root — the cause
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bass — low music
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. date — the fruit
  10. degree — an amount
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — rain
  13. root — of a plant
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. root — of a word
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — to wash
  23. staff — a stick
  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