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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: root · mug · present · shower · pitch · capital · degree · trunk

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — the cause
  3. shower — rain
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mug — a cup
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pitch — completely
  10. degree — temperature
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. degree — from a university
  15. present — the time now
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mug — a face
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. capital — a city
  24. mug — to rob

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