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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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468
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 · pitch · rock · march · shower · rash · bowl · root

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rock — music
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — rain
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. march — music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rash — a series
  22. rock — a stone
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a dish

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