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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 124 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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. roll — a list
  3. stock — goods
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. ground — a position
  6. content — happy
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. root — of a plant
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — the amount
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. root — the cause
  17. stock — shares
  18. root — of a word
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. ground — the earth
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. roll — a cake

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