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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: bay · mate · fork · degree · cell · root

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — temperature
  3. root — of a word
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mate — a partner
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — the cause
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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