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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. degree — an amount
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mine — for digging
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. saw — the tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. squash — the sport
  15. root — of a plant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. root — the cause
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. foot — a measure
  21. degree — from a university
  22. date — the fruit
  23. squash — to crush
  24. mine — an explosive

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