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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. root — the cause
  4. ground — crushed
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — child
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kick — in football
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a word
  13. current — happening now
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. ground — a position
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — help
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. current — of water
  22. ground — the earth
  23. current — electric
  24. kid — to tease

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