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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · root · bear · rest · degree · tear

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. root — the cause
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — from crying

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