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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — the season
  11. root — of a word
  12. scale — in music
  13. season — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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