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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. root — of a word
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. root — the cause
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rule — government

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