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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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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 · roll · race · rush · root · bulb · tear · mouse

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — humankind
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bulb — for light
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — an amount
  15. root — the cause
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. race — the arms race
  23. roll — a list
  24. bulb — for light

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