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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. spring — the season
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. net — for catching
  8. snap — to click
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cue — a hint
  11. root — of a word
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. net — in sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. net — after costs
  17. bore — to drill
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. root — the cause
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cue — a signal
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — from a university

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