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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: wake · mark · swing · degree · land · pound · root · bulb

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wake — a trail
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. root — the cause
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. mark — a grade
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. degree — temperature
  19. swing — music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mark — to pay attention

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