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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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Word bank
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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: degree · row · cold · root · ball · cap

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. root — the cause
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — from a university
  7. row — to paddle
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cap — a lid
  10. row — a line
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. root — of a plant

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