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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. ground — a position
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mark — a trace
  17. land — ground
  18. root — the cause
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. land — to come down
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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