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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. court — for sport
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — a leader
  8. root — of a plant
  9. roll — a cake
  10. mark — a trace
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of law
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — the fish
  21. root — the cause
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — from a university
  24. root — of a word

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