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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a word
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — a subject
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — for sport
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bear — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fine — all right
  20. root — of a plant
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. ground — the earth
  24. root — the cause

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