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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 · bear · row · pitcher · roll · object · root · kid

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. root — the cause
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bear — the animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. degree — temperature
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. object — a thing
  16. roll — a list
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — of a word
  21. degree — an amount
  22. root — of a plant
  23. kid — child
  24. bear — 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