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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: scale · ruler · degree · march · stem · root · racket · drill

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — size or range
  4. march — music
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. drill — a practice
  15. root — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — temperature
  18. root — the cause
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — the tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — army training
  24. degree — an amount

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