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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 · fan · season · present · tear · root · cold · vault

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. season — of the year
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. present — the time now
  15. vault — a safe
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. season — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. root — the cause
  24. present — a gift

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