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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.

Words on the sheet
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: face · root · content · prune · rash · game · mine · degree

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. root — of a plant
  3. content — the amount
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — from a university
  7. content — happy
  8. root — of a word
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rash — a series
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. game — a match
  21. face — to point toward
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — an amount

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