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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — from a university
  6. root — the cause
  7. foot — a measure
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — of a word
  11. degree — an amount
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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