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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 · game · root · season · kid · pop · fork · toast

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — a match
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — to tease
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pop — soda
  10. root — of a plant
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — bread
  13. season — of the year
  14. kid — child
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. season — in sport
  24. game — wild animals

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