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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 · temple · bound · wave · straw · root · squash · wind

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. root — of a plant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bound — certain
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bound — obliged
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bound — tied together
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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