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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rest — a break
  6. root — of a plant
  7. swing — to play on
  8. root — of a word
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. root — the cause
  14. snap — to click
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rest — what's left
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wind — moving air
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. swing — music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rest — what's left

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