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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pop — to visit
  3. root — of a word
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — farmland
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pop — music
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. spring — the season
  11. club — for golf
  12. bore — to drill
  13. degree — temperature
  14. spring — of water
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. club — for dancing
  19. spring — a coil
  20. root — the cause
  21. pass — a permit
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bore — to tire
  24. club — a group

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