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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — final
  3. root — of a word
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. game — a match
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. root — of a plant
  11. lean — thin
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lean — to bend
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pass — a permit
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. degree — temperature
  19. root — the cause
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stem — to come from
  23. last — finally
  24. game — a kind of play

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