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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. root — of a word
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — government
  8. firm — steady
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. firm — decided
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — an illness
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. firm — a company
  23. root — of a plant
  24. content — happy

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