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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. lean — thin
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. board — a committee
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. board — to get on
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — a short time
  24. degree — from a university

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