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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · key · pit · lean · degree · field · press · root

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — farmland
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. lean — thin
  6. key — the most important part
  7. press — a publisher
  8. root — the cause
  9. degree — from a university
  10. press — newspapers
  11. degree — temperature
  12. key — for a lock
  13. lean — to bend
  14. field — for sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. pit — in a race
  17. key — in music
  18. field — a subject
  19. press — to push
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. root — of a plant

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