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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. sharp — clever
  3. season — in sport
  4. root — the cause
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. root — of a plant
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. season — of the year
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. root — of a word
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. degree — an amount
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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