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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. root — the cause
  4. degree — an amount
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. firm — steady
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spring — of water
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. root — of a plant
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. root — of a word

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