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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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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 · date · degree · cap · bulb · kid · perch · temple

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — an amount
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a hat
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kid — child
  8. root — of a word
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — the cause
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bulb — for light
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cap — of ice
  24. root — of a plant

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