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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tube — a container
  4. drill — army training
  5. degree — from a university
  6. content — happy
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. root — of a word
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tube — the underground
  17. sharp — clever
  18. root — of a plant
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. degree — temperature

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