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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. root — the cause
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. root — of a plant
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. root — of a word
  20. cap — a hat
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. hand — help

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