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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 124 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mug — a face
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mug — to rob
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. land — to come down
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — happy
  14. root — the cause
  15. board — to get on
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — a country
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. capital — a city
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. board — a committee

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