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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. can — a tin
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. can — to be able to
  10. plane — a tool
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. rash — a series
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a music group
  20. can — a tin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. plane — an aircraft

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