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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: march · lie · bass · arm · degree · sharp · tear · root

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. root — the cause
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — temperature
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. root — of a word
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bass — the fish
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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