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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hand — in cards
  4. degree — temperature
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. hand — help
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mine — for digging
  10. net — after costs
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — of a word
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. net — for catching
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. net — in sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — part of the body

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