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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. roll — a cake
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. root — of a word
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — finally
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. saw — the tool
  21. roll — a list
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. coach — a trainer

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