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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. drill — army training
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chip — to eat
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. scale — in music
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. root — of a plant
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chip — for betting
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. plane — a tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stem — to come from

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