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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. capital — money
  4. object — an aim
  5. root — of a plant
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. root — of a word
  8. firm — decided
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — to go on
  13. firm — steady
  14. ground — a position
  15. row — a line
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. root — the cause
  21. capital — a city
  22. object — to protest
  23. firm — a company
  24. object — a thing

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