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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: degree · capital · root · cell · hide · rush · mouse · spell

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — a city
  3. spell — magic
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. root — the cause
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cell — a phone
  10. root — of a plant
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — a short time
  19. capital — money
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rush — hurry
  22. root — of a word
  23. spell — letters
  24. mouse — the animal

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