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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — from a university
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. field — for sport
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. root — of a word
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — farmland
  13. root — the cause
  14. game — a match
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — a kind of play

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