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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. degree — temperature
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. root — of a plant
  6. last — finally
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. degree — an amount
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. staff — employees
  11. hand — help
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. degree — from a university
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — in cards
  18. staff — a stick
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — not warm
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitch — a sports field

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