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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: snap · degree · hide · root · roll · bark · net · race

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. race — a contest
  11. net — for catching
  12. snap — to click
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. root — of a word
  16. degree — an amount
  17. race — humankind
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. root — the cause
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. roll — a cake
  22. root — of a plant
  23. race — the arms race
  24. degree — from a university

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