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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. band — a music group
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — the cause
  6. present — a gift
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. firm — decided
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. band — a ring
  15. fork — in a road
  16. degree — an amount
  17. firm — a company
  18. root — of a plant
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. kid — child
  21. mine — for digging
  22. present — there
  23. firm — steady
  24. present — the time now

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