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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. root — of a plant
  3. net — for catching
  4. degree — an amount
  5. saw — the tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. net — after costs
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — of a word
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bass — low music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. net — in sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lie — to recline

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