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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. can — a tin
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — the sport
  11. root — the cause
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — temperature
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. degree — from a university
  18. root — of a plant
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. root — of a word
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cold — an illness
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — to crush

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