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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: wind · fork · trunk · bark · dip · degree · root · wake

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. root — the cause
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fork — in a road
  11. root — of a word
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. root — of a plant
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. degree — temperature

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