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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: straw · kid · root · bowl · degree · fall · object · stem

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. root — of a word
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. object — an aim
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — an amount
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kid — to tease
  18. object — to protest
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fall — to drop
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — the season

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