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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — help
  7. bound — tied together
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bound — certain
  10. root — of a plant
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bound — obliged
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — of a word
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cue — for pool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. root — the cause

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