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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 120 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 · degree · file · foot · mine · stock · prune · root

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. file — a document
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stock — shares
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. root — the cause
  9. fork — in a road
  10. root — of a word
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stock — goods
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a tool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — from a university
  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