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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a match
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. object — to protest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. object — a thing
  12. capital — money
  13. root — the cause
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. object — an aim
  17. capital — a city
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. root — of a word
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. root — of a plant
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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