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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: court · deal · degree · shower · saw · arm · root · toast

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. toast — bread
  5. deal — to handle
  6. root — the cause
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. court — of law
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. court — for sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. root — of a plant
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. root — of a word
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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