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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: land · bear · root · content · court · shower · degree · bay

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. root — of a word
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bear — the animal
  5. root — of a plant
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — rain
  9. land — ground
  10. court — of law
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. court — of a king
  13. bear — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. degree — from a university
  22. content — happy
  23. land — to come down
  24. degree — temperature

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