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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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468
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: fork · degree · pitcher · content · ball · kick · root · spring

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. kick — in football
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ball — a dance
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. root — of a word
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spring — a coil
  13. root — of a plant
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. root — the cause
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — the season
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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