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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bore — to tire
  6. root — of a plant
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. root — the cause
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. capital — money
  14. bore — to drill
  15. capital — a city
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — a signal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. root — of a word
  24. cue — for pool

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