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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. key — for a lock
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — to wash
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — the cause
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. root — of a word
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. key — in music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. degree — temperature
  22. shower — rain
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. root — of a plant

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