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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — a law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. root — the cause
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — in music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — an amount
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. degree — from a university
  17. root — of a word
  18. key — for a lock
  19. ground — crushed
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rule — government
  23. key — the most important part
  24. pitcher — a jug

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