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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bass — low music
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — the cause
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bass — the fish
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. root — of a word
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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