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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: swing · firm · root · race · leaves · degree

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. swing — in golf
  3. firm — decided
  4. race — humankind
  5. root — of a plant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. root — of a word
  9. race — a contest
  10. firm — a company
  11. root — the cause
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. degree — temperature
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. swing — music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. swing — to play on
  18. leaves — of a tree

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