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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — a match
  4. march — the month
  5. root — the cause
  6. squash — the sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — temperature
  12. suit — clothes
  13. march — the month
  14. suit — in cards
  15. game — wild animals
  16. content — happy
  17. root — of a word
  18. march — music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. suit — to fit
  21. dip — to sink
  22. root — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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