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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. root — the cause
  5. scale — size or range
  6. track — a path
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wake — a trail
  9. track — to keep track
  10. root — of a word
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. row — a line
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. track — a song
  24. row — to paddle

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