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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 116 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: present · squash · degree · root · fall · bass · bound · kid

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — tied together
  4. root — the cause
  5. bass — low music
  6. root — of a word
  7. fall — to drop
  8. degree — temperature
  9. root — of a plant
  10. present — a gift
  11. fall — the season
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — the fish
  17. present — the time now
  18. squash — the sport
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — obliged
  21. kid — to tease
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bound — certain

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