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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wind — moving air
  4. root — of a word
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. root — of a plant
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bound — obliged
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — certain
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. ball — a great time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. root — the cause

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