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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. root — of a word
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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