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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. root — of a plant
  3. face — to point toward
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — of a word
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. spring — a coil
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. current — of water
  18. root — the cause
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — an amount
  24. plane — in geometry

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