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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. scale — in music
  3. net — in sport
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. net — after costs
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. scale — size or range
  8. band — a ring
  9. net — for catching
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. root — of a word
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. scale — for weighing

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