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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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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 · stand · kid · chest · degree · fork

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stand — to bear
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kid — child
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chest — a box
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word

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