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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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468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pit — in a race
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bore — to tire
  14. root — the cause
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — farmland
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. root — of a word
  22. fine — all right
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fine — high quality

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