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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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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: bay · root · degree · shower · arm · chip · last · present

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. present — a gift
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. last — to go on
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. root — the cause
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. last — finally
  15. root — of a word
  16. last — final
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. degree — temperature
  19. present — there
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chip — to eat
  23. present — the time now
  24. chip — in a computer

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