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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: ball · content · degree · snap · race · rule · root · patient

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. content — happy
  3. race — a contest
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to click
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. root — of a word
  11. rule — government
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. degree — from a university
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. ball — a great time
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rule — a law
  20. race — humankind
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. race — the arms race

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