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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — a path
  5. fine — high quality
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fork — in a road
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. snap — to click
  21. bore — to tire
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bore — to drill
  24. degree — an amount

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