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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. root — the cause
  3. cold — not warm
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. degree — temperature
  12. roll — a list
  13. root — of a word
  14. tube — the underground
  15. root — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tube — a container
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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