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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — the cause
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — an illness
  7. root — of a word
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. degree — from a university
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. tear — to rip
  15. degree — temperature
  16. key — in music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — of a plant
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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