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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. root — of a word
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. degree — an amount
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — an illness
  15. root — the cause
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. fork — in a road

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