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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. track — a song
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rest — a break
  20. kid — child
  21. root — the cause
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rest — what's left

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