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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. toast — bread
  5. root — of a word
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. dip — to sink
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. clip — to cut
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. root — the cause
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. root — of a plant
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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