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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: tear · chair · root · shower · bank · sharp · arm · degree

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — to rip
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. root — the cause
  5. bank — for money
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bank — for money
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tear — from crying
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. chair — a leader
  15. root — of a word
  16. sharp — clever
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bank — of a river

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