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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
468
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: cold · bat · spell · last · court · root · degree · object

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. last — final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. root — the cause
  5. object — to protest
  6. last — finally
  7. root — of a word
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. object — an aim
  16. court — for sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cold — not warm
  22. object — a thing
  23. spell — magic
  24. cold — an illness

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