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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fall — to drop
  4. root — of a word
  5. land — a country
  6. rest — a break
  7. land — ground
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — to wash
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — a safe
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. root — the cause
  21. land — to come down
  22. rest — what's left
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pit — in a race

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