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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: shower · pitcher · fine · degree · root · toast · ruler · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. root — of a word
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fine — all right
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — for sport
  11. fine — high quality
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — farmland
  17. toast — bread
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. shower — rain

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