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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bank — for money
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pop — music
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — the season
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. spring — of water
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pop — soda

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