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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. root — the cause
  3. shower — rain
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. ground — the earth
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — shares
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stock — goods
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. root — of a word
  21. sharp — clever
  22. root — of a plant
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. coach — a trainer

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