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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — of a word
  7. mug — a face
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — a group
  12. root — of a plant
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pop — soda
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. club — for golf
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pop — music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mug — to rob
  24. root — the cause

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