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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. net — after costs
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. swing — to play on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — the season
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — for catching
  14. swing — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. root — of a word
  17. spring — a coil
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — an amount
  23. swing — in golf
  24. net — in sport

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