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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. root — the cause
  4. cue — a signal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — temperature
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cap — of ice
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. drill — army training
  13. root — of a plant
  14. drill — a practice
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. root — of a word
  18. drill — the tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cue — for pool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — a match
  24. calf — a young animal

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