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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · bound · content · mine · degree · cue · root · roll

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. content — happy
  4. cue — a signal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cue — a hint
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cue — for pool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — the amount
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bound — tied together
  14. dip — to sink
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mine — for digging
  17. roll — a cake
  18. bound — certain
  19. degree — an amount
  20. root — the cause
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bound — obliged
  23. root — of a word
  24. roll — a list

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