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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 trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bulb — for light
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — ground
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. land — to come down
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rest — what's left
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. rest — a break
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. root — of a word

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