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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · fork · pass · mug · root · bark · degree · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  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. mug — a face
  2. land — a country
  3. fork — in a road
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. pass — a permit
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. land — ground
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — an amount
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mug — a cup
  14. land — to come down
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. root — of a plant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — to shout
  19. degree — from a university
  20. root — of a word
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  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