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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: root · ground · toast · wind · snap · degree · mug · can

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. mug — a face
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mug — a cup
  7. can — a tin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ground — a position
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. toast — bread
  12. root — the cause
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — a tin
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. root — of a word
  17. can — to be able to
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. root — of a plant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to click
  24. wind — moving air

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