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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 120 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: patient · degree · race · straw · fine · root · arm · pop

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — soda
  3. root — of a word
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. root — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. race — the arms race
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fine — high quality
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. race — humankind
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fine — all right
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. race — a contest

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