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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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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: pass · root · club · pop · degree · bay · mark · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. club — a group
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pop — to visit
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pass — a permit
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. club — for golf
  11. degree — an amount
  12. root — of a word
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pop — soda
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pop — music
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — temperature
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. root — the cause

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