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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: fall · ground · degree · root · straw · staff

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fall — the season
  3. staff — a stick
  4. root — of a word
  5. staff — employees
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — the earth
  8. root — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fall — to drop
  13. root — the cause
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — a position
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. staff — employees
  18. fall — to drop

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