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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. root — of a word
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. root — the cause
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bank — for money
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. race — a contest
  18. pass — a permit
  19. degree — from a university
  20. ground — crushed
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — the earth
  23. root — of a plant
  24. ground — a position

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