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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — the arms race
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. shower — to wash
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. race — a contest
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. spell — letters
  24. bark — to shout

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