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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 116 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — to rip
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. root — the cause
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. perch — the fish
  13. root — of a word
  14. capital — money
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — of a plant
  19. capital — a city
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rash — hasty
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — a series
  24. safe — out of danger

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