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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: board · root · swing · degree · lash · cold · cap · stock

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. board — to get on
  7. stock — shares
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — an amount
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. root — of a plant
  14. stock — goods
  15. swing — music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. board — a committee
  21. cap — a hat
  22. root — of a word
  23. lash — to lash out
  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