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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: degree · pop · rash · root · bear · key · current · file

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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 — from a university
  2. root — of a word
  3. current — happening now
  4. key — in music
  5. pop — music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. key — the most important part
  10. degree — temperature
  11. current — electric
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. pop — soda
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pop — to visit
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  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