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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: wound · wax · spring · craft · race · root · degree · dip

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. race — the arms race
  9. root — of a plant
  10. race — a contest
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. craft — a skill
  15. race — humankind
  16. spring — the season
  17. root — of a word
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — from a university
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spring — of water
  24. root — the cause

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