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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pound — a weight
  13. degree — temperature
  14. face — to point toward
  15. root — of a word
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. face — to confront
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. root — the cause
  23. face — part of the head
  24. degree — an amount

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