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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: spell · land · tube · bark · last · prune · root · degree

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. last — to go on
  3. spell — magic
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — from a university
  8. last — finally
  9. land — to come down
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — to shout
  21. root — of a word
  22. last — final
  23. root — the cause
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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