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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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Word bank
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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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. stand — to bear
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. root — of a word
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — a practice
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bear — the animal
  13. root — the cause
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cold — not warm
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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