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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rock — music
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. track — to keep track
  7. root — of a word
  8. mark — a trace
  9. root — the cause
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. track — a path
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a song
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — an amount

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