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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: chest · degree · root · shower · rule · object · fall · bulb

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. fall — to drop
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bulb — for light
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. rule — government
  15. fall — the season
  16. rule — a law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. object — an aim
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. degree — temperature
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — a box

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