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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tube — the underground
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tube — a container
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. charge — a price
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — rain
  18. charge — in control
  19. degree — from a university
  20. charge — electricity
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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