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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pit — in a race
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. root — of a plant
  8. track — a song
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — the cause
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pit — a hole
  17. present — there
  18. mine — for digging
  19. present — the time now
  20. track — a path
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. present — a gift
  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