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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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468
Word bank
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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fork — in a road
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — wild animals
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. root — the cause
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. race — the arms race
  18. deal — to handle
  19. degree — from a university
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — humankind
  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