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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: fork · mate · degree · press · drill · toast · content · root

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fork — in a road
  9. drill — army training
  10. press — newspapers
  11. content — happy
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. press — a publisher
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. root — the cause
  16. press — to push
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mate — a friend
  20. toast — bread
  21. root — of a word
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. root — of a plant

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