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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 124 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. root — of a plant
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. root — the cause
  16. spring — of water
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. swing — to play on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a word
  24. fall — the season

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