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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: degree · cold · pop · root · lie · squash · prune · nail

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. degree — from a university
  4. root — the cause
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. root — of a plant
  7. prune — to trim
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. squash — the sport
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lie — to recline
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pop — soda
  16. squash — to crush
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cold — an illness
  20. root — of a word
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — music

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