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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 120 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: bass · rule · root · wake · bear · degree · snap · pit

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. rule — a law
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bass — low music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rule — government
  16. root — of a word
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. root — of a plant
  23. snap — to click
  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