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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. root — of a plant
  3. staff — a stick
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. degree — an amount
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. march — music
  11. root — of a word
  12. kick — in football
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. root — the cause
  15. staff — employees
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — from a university

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