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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
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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: lie · degree · last · root · scale · pop · arm · season

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pop — to visit
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — final
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. root — of a word
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — finally
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pop — soda
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — music
  17. season — of the year
  18. root — the cause
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. arm — a part of something

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