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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bat · root · cold · mark · hide · coach · scale

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — of a plant
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — in music
  19. mark — a grade
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a word
  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