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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: root · spring · prune · cell · content · squash · can · degree

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cell — a phone
  3. can — a tin
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — of water
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — an amount
  14. squash — to crush
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. content — happy
  18. can — a tin
  19. spring — the season
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. root — of a plant
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cell — in biology

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