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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: race · root · trunk · ruler · bank · press · file · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. race — the arms race
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bank — for money
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — a publisher
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bank — of a river
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. press — to push
  16. race — a contest
  17. bank — for money
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. race — humankind
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a line of people

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