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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 120 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: root · bay · arm · capital · wave · field · object · degree

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. degree — an amount
  4. root — the cause
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. object — an aim
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. degree — from a university
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. capital — money
  15. object — a thing
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. field — farmland
  23. root — of a word
  24. object — to protest

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