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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: stick · branch · degree · track · root · racket · wind · prune

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — a path
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. root — of a word
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. root — of a plant
  21. branch — a division
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. root — the cause

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