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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. root — the cause
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. root — of a word
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — a position
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lie — to recline
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ground — the earth

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