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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 116 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: root · degree · file · calf · band · snap · game · branch

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. game — wild animals
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a ring
  8. game — a match
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. root — of a plant
  11. snap — to click
  12. file — a document
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. branch — a division
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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