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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: degree · present · saw · can · dip · wind · root · chair

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. degree — temperature
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. present — the time now
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — there
  18. can — to be able to
  19. saw — the tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a word
  22. dip — to sink
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. degree — from a university

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