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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.

Words on the sheet
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: root · face · spring · kid · object · track · degree · net

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — child
  4. net — in sport
  5. track — a song
  6. spring — of water
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — for catching
  10. object — to protest
  11. face — to point toward
  12. track — to keep track
  13. root — of a plant
  14. object — a thing
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. root — the cause
  19. track — a path
  20. spring — a coil
  21. kid — to tease
  22. object — an aim
  23. spring — the season
  24. root — of a word

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