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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fine — high quality
  3. last — to go on
  4. spring — of water
  5. firm — a company
  6. last — final
  7. club — for golf
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. firm — steady
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — finally
  12. row — to paddle
  13. club — for dancing
  14. root — of a word
  15. fine — all right
  16. spring — a coil
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a plant
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. root — the cause
  21. firm — decided
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — from a university
  24. club — a group

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